Michael Bay just might be transforming himself into a new kind of director.
Bay, who has spent the last several years gaining popularity for his “Transformers” films, is reportedly in talks to direct the Benghazi film “13 Hours,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The film will be based on the book by Mitchelle Zuckoff entitled, “Thirteen Hours: A Firsthand Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi,” which recounts the story of a security team during the 2012 terror attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
Despite the fact that the first four installments of the “Transformers” series have raked in over $3.7 billion around the world since 2007, Bay intimated earlier this year that he would likely pass on directing the fifth installment.
“There’s kind of a new chapter, a new direction in movies I want to make,” he said in an interview with USA TODAY.
Perhaps “13 Hours” will point exactly in the “new direction” that Bay wishes to take his career.
One thing’s for certain: The director will have to adjust to a lower budget. While the “Transformers” films each costed upwards of $200 million to make, the budget for the Benghazi movie will likely fall somewhere between $30 and $40 million.
“13 Hours,” a Paramount film, will be produced by Erwin Stoff and feature a scrip written by Chuck Hogan.
The book “Thirteen Hours” is based on the accounts of five security team members that witnessed and survived the attack in Benghazi. The book is a No. 1 best seller on Amazon.
